I can't take credit for most of the new graphics -- the ones used are a compilation of graphics from the Japanese version of Mario 2, as well as other Mario edits (and there are several other Mario edits). But the reason I made Mario Bash, aside from the fact that I just enjoyed doing it (and playing it), is because most of the Mario edits I have played fall under one of two categories: either they only update the graphics and keep the original stages, or the new stages created (which is usually only stages 1-1 through 1-4) simply border on the edge of impossibility.

Because Super Mario Bash is based on the Nintendo original, it is not a stand-alone game. If you are unfamiliar with emulation, basically all you need to do is to download an NES emulator (which mimics the NES hardware), and the ROM (the game itself).

Below I have provided for download the ROM of Mario Bash, a ROM of the original Super Mario Bros., as well as a couple of my favorite NES emulators (this was as of 2007... I recommend Googling for a modern emulator //2017). The best by far is NESticle, which comes in two versions, DOS and Windows. If you have a computer running Windows 98 (or 95 or ME), you should definitely use NESticle. If you have Windows XP that's fine too, just make sure to run the Windows version of NESticle (NESTCL95). Both versions are included in the zip file. A very good alternative to NESticle is RockNES, which I find runs perfectly under XP.

Again, if you are unfamiliar with emulation, I'll give you a few tips here. First off, extract the emulator and the Mario Bash zip files to the same directory (I use C:\Games\NES). Now open up the emulator and go to "File > Load ROM..." (or "Main > Load ROM" if using RockNES) to open Mario Bash. These emulators have many great features, including saving and loading you current game state, so be sure to read the text files accompanying the emulators.

And finally, here are the tools I used to create the game, in case you are interested.

I decided a while back to create an open-source port of Super Mario Bros. I never finished it, or even got very far into development, but below is the original outline of it's planned (and some current) features. It's not playable (not in the sense of a game at least, only a tech demo), but programmers (Visual Basic 6) may want to take a look.

Super Mario Bros is the greatest game ever. And I want to recreate it for the PC. Of course so have a lot of other people, and I've tried several Mario knock-offs. But that's just it, they're only cheap imitations. None of them have the same feel -- the same spot-on controls -- most feel slippery and many things aren't implemented correctly, for example they usually have goombas and green turtles that won't walk off edges. And they usually try harder to imitate Mario 3 than the original game. The levels are really bad, there's only a few of them, and most of the enemy types aren't there. Most of the technical limitations of these games is due to the fact that they're made with special game-creation programs, which are not very good, and not programmed from scrath.

So, I decided with my Mario game I won't settle for being just a cheap imitation. And, it will be truly open-source -- I don't have any for-sale OCX controls to promote with it. There will be an easy-to-use level editor where you simply "paint" objects to the stage, and you can import levels from an NES rom -- in fact the game will come with both the entire 8 worlds of the original game, plus 8 worlds from my NES rom hack, Super Mario Bash (bashsoftware.net/MarioBash.html). It will also come with all-new levels that take advantage of the new capabailities of the engine. In the original NES game for example, you can't have any more than 3 objects in one column.

The game will come with either the original NES graphics, or the graphics from the SNES remake, I haven't yet decided. And you may be able to import graphics from an NES rom, to get, for example, the graphics from the Japanese sequel to Super Mario. But it won't really shine until new graphics are made. I don't have much talent in that area so I'm hoping to find someone who wants to work on them. There's a bunch of graphics mods for the NES rom, so maybe I'll be able to find someone who wants to do it. The graphics will be 16-bit color (65,536 colors compared to the NES's 16), and the resolution will be exactly 3 times higher, for easy graphics converting (768x720 up from 256x240).

The game is built around modibility. When you start the game you can select which graphics pack, and level pack, to choose from. You can mix-and-match. And, you can turn on all sort of little tweaks, such as enabling the Mario 3-like ability for turtles to break blocks. Plus, for the modders, there will be several new objects to put into stages -- such as horizontal pipes; invisible mushrooms, stars, and vines (in addition to the NES's 1-Ups and coin blocks); special coins worth more than the usual ones, etc.

Features:

three times the resolution

no limitations on level design (as many objects/enemies per stage as you want, no limit of three objects per column, as many warp pipes as you want)

easier to use level editor - with no limitations on objects, you will be able to create levels by "painting" the desired objects onto an empty stage. for example select the bricks tool and paint dozens of bricks in just a couple of seconds. also, it will be much easier to work with warp pipes, not having to mess with warp codes (as with the NES rom-hacking).

easier to create custom graphics - no more trying to jumble tiles with YYCHR or TLP, just open the corresponding bitmap.

new options and mods to play with, such as auto-continue, turtle shells that can activate ? blocks (like in Mario 3), bouncing fireballs, horizontal pipes (also like Mario 3), and more.

bug fixes:

hitting a ? block that has a coin on top of it only gives you one coin

no more objects/enemies (especially hidden blocks, mushrooms) that don't work for some reason